


In Darkest Night

by ReginaNocis



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alive Allison Argent, M/M, Magical Stiles Stilinski, Oblivious Scott, Resurrection
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-11
Updated: 2018-04-16
Packaged: 2019-04-21 09:07:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,839
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14281596
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ReginaNocis/pseuds/ReginaNocis
Summary: Stiles is given a gift that he doesn't understand, and it causes all kinds of trouble.





	1. How it Begins

_He was old, so old. He’d been watching the Earth for millennia, waiting for the right person to come along so he could pass on his gift. He was so very tired._

_He watched the boy for years, from the time he was born, to the time he wasn’t himself anymore. He watched the boy struggle back to his own self, watched the friends he’d made for himself fight to save him, and watched them all grieve the loss of one of their own. He watched the boy pine for someone he didn’t feel he deserved. He watched the boy attempt to sacrifice himself to save his friends, his pack. He watched as they saved him before he could make the sacrifice._

_“Stiles,” he’d whispered to himself, testing the name on his tongue. It felt right. “Stiles.”_

_He’d watched Claudia Stilinski, too. She’d shown so much promise, until her illness made itself known. By the time the illness had been discovered, it was too late to save her. So he’d switched to her son, because he took after her perfectly. Stiles Stilinski was the perfect example of a good person. He had never done anything to hurt anyone, and he’d never shown any sign that he would. After much watching and deliberating, he decided that Stiles Stilinski would be perfect. He would use the gift wisely._

_“Stiles,” he whispered, this time with purpose. “Stiles Stilinski, so begins your destiny.”_

Stiles woke up that morning as if nothing had happened. To him, nothing had. He ate his breakfast and got ready for the day, ignored texts from Scott on principle (because he was still mad about being forgotten, and Scott didn’t even seem to realize), and made it all the way to his jeep before anything strange had happened at all.

The jeep wouldn’t start, but that was normal now. Stiles was pretty sure the Nogitsune had done something to it in the time he’d had by himself. It fit with everything else the monster had done to destroy his life. He smashed his hand down onto the steering wheel in frustration, fully ready to walk to school, when the first strange thing happened; the jeep started.

“What?” Stiles said out loud in shock. The jeep was on; radio playing quietly and engine practically purring. It was the smoothest it had sounded since the second week he’d bought the thing. “This isn’t possible.”

He did the only thing he could think of: he called Scott. He didn’t even let Scott say a word before he was rambling. He hadn’t shut the jeep off or taken the keys out because he was afraid to jinx it.

“Scott, is it possible for jeeps to be possessed? Because I think mine is. It wasn’t working, and I hit the steering wheel, and then it was. I didn’t even turn the key this time, Scott,” he said all in one breath.  He would have kept going, but Scott interrupted him.

“Stiles, calm down. Your jeep isn’t possessed,” Scott told him, loudly so that Stiles couldn’t interrupt. “But if it makes you feel better, we can talk to Deaton about it after practice tonight. I’ve got a late shift at the clinic with him.”

“Yeah,” Stiles said, slightly calmer than he had been. “Yeah, okay. Sorry. After everything, I just don’t think we can be too careful.”

“It’s probably just an electrical glitch,” Scott assured him. “That’s much more likely than possession.”

After the jeep, nothing out of the ordinary seemed to happen. Stiles had a fairly normal day at school, but he had far more luck than usual. He knew the answers every time a teacher called on him, they served his favorite foods at lunch, and he didn’t miss the ball a single time at practice. Scott didn’t even ignore him for the first time since Allison’s death.

“Dude, that was a really good practice,” Scott said as they finished changing in the locker room. “Like, better than usual. Coach even got your name right.”

“It was bound to happen eventually,” Stiles shrugged. “There are only so many ways you can mess up Stilinski, and I spent the summer practicing because it was better than thinking.”

Scott didn’t have a come-back for that, because he knew it was true. He’d spent his summer throwing himself into his work at the clinic and trying to find ways to get drunk with his metabolism. As far as Stiles knew, he hadn’t managed it.

“Do you still want to see Deaton about your jeep?” Scott asked as they parted ways.

“Nah, it’s fine,” Stiles shrugged. “You were probably right. She’s been having a lot of problems. I think the Nogitsune sabotaged her.”

“Okay. Text me later,” Scott agreed. And then it was as if Stiles didn’t exist anymore. This was normal Scott behavior nowadays, so Stiles ignored it.

He’d managed to push all thoughts of strangeness out of his head by the time he made it home. He made dinner for his dad, did the few dishes that were in the sink, and went upstairs to do his homework. He was finished by the time his father made it home, but he stayed in his room and used it as an excuse when his father came to ask if he wanted to eat with him. Avoidance was his only solution to the problem of what to tell his father about his sudden lack of sleep and motivation. He went to bed early that night, and had his first weird dream of many to come.

_He was sitting on a cloud. He could see Beacon Hills, the way that he could from the look-out point they used as a meeting ground sometimes. He was alone, and it was cold. His very first thought was that he had died, but the air shifted in a way that reminded him of a teacher scolding him when he thought it. Not dead, then. The air settled immediately._

_“What?” Stiles asked the air, confused. “How am I here? What am I doing?” There was no answer, but it had grown much warmer when he’d spoken out loud. Apparently the air here was sentient and liked being spoken to. “Okay, this is officially the weirdest thing that’s ever happened to me. And that’s saying something, since I just spent months of my life being possessed by a crazy spirit that wanted to kill everyone I love.”_

_The air grew heavier, as if it was trying to hug him, and he laughed. “You’re strangely nice, for air. It reminds me of how things used to be with Scott, before Allison… well, let’s just say that the spirit did manage to kill someone that I loved.” The hug-like feeling grew. “I wish it had been me instead of her. None of us really know how to function without her, especially Scott. He’s pushed us all away, which is really bad since we’re his pack and he’s our alpha. Nothing is right anymore. Life was easier with Allison.”_

_There was a pressure on his chest. It didn’t hurt, but it was intense. He struggled to breathe for a few seconds, flailing his arms in alarm. The air didn’t seem to like that, moving rapidly again as if that would calm him down. And then the pressure was gone and the wind died down, and Stiles could breathe again._

_“What the hell was that?” he demanded, but there was no answer. There was only silence and the heavy feeling of foreboding. Something had happened, and he had the undeniable feeling that he had caused it._

He woke in darkness, and it alarmed him more than his dream had. When he’d gone to sleep, the moon had been out and nearly full. Now he couldn’t see a moon at all, or any stars. There was only darkness. He struggled to sit up and turn on a light, and that’s when he realized he wasn’t alone in his bed. In fact, the pressure he’d felt on his chest in his dream had been a person appearing on top of him. His flailing had shifted them off to the side, but they were still there. The sense of foreboding was back as he practically fell out of bed to reach the light in his haste to figure out what was going on.

The light didn’t help his confusion at all. In fact, it made it worse. Because the person who’d been laying on him was Allison Argent, alive, breathing, and sleeping in his bed.


	2. Confusion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stiles calls for help.

Stiles made it to the hallway before he started really freaking out. He’d had panic attacks after the death of his mother, but it had been years since the last one. And Lydia wasn’t here now to snap him out of it, so he spent a good fifteen minutes hyperventilating and trying to get his heart to stop racing. He very nearly passed out before he got himself under control again. But even when he’d calmed down, he wasn’t sure what to do.

He couldn’t call Scott. Losing Allison was the hardest on him, and even though he was technically Stiles’ alpha, he couldn’t justify putting him through that pain again if it turned out she wasn’t really back. It was too late to assume that Deaton was in his office, and Stiles hadn’t thought to get his personal number. Isaac was out, because he had worse anxiety issues than Stiles. He’d feel bad for the rest of his life if he dragged Lydia here only to hurt her. That only left one person who wouldn’t be hurt if Stiles called.

“Derek,” he gasped out the second he’d answered the phone. “I need help.” He must have sounded worse than he’d thought, because Derek sounded way more worried than he ever had before.

“What happened?” Derek demanded. Stiles could hear him moving on the other end, probably getting dressed.

“I don’t really know how to describe it,” Stiles hesitated. “I had a weird dream, and-“

“You called me over a weird dream?” Derek snapped, and the noises stopped. He’d clearly decided Stiles wasn’t worth his time if that was all he wanted.

“No, you asshole, I called you because of the resurrected girl in my bed!” Stiles practically shouted. He was vibrating with nervous energy and he just wanted someone to tell him what was going on.

“What?” Derek asked flatly. The movements had started again. “Who?”

It spoke volumes about the way they lived their lives that Stiles immediately knew what Derek was hoping. He could have kicked himself for the way he’d gotten Derek’s hopes up only to have to crush them. He’d forgotten all about Erica in his haste to figure out what was going on with Allison. Of course Derek would assume that Stiles was calling about Erica. It would make sense to call him about her, much more than it did to call him over Allison.

“Derek,” he started, but he didn’t know what to say after. He couldn’t make this better. “It’s Allison. I just didn’t know who else to call.”

“Why didn’t you call Scott?” Derek shot back, but he didn’t sound angry. He sounded resigned.

“I didn’t want to get his hopes up if it turned out to be either temporary or only in my head. She’s sleeping in my bed right now, and she hasn’t woken up at all. I don’t know if she’s really here, Derek. I don’t know if this is my imagination the way it always was with the Nogitsune. He liked to make me think everything was okay when it really wasn’t. I could never tell if it was real or not,” Stiles admitted.

“Count your fingers,” Derek said softly. “I know that’s what you used to do. Do it now, and then wait for me downstairs. I’ll be there in ten minutes.”

The phone disconnected before Stiles could answer him, and he nearly dropped it when he tried to put it in his pocket. He hadn’t noticed his hands shaking until that moment. He could barely hold them still long enough to count.

“One,” he muttered to himself, folding a finger down. “Two.” If Allison was really back, things could finally get better. The pack would be whole again. Scott would be a better alpha, because he’d be able to concentrate again. Lydia would have her best friend back. And his family would be whole again. “Three. Four.” But if she wasn’t back… “Five.”

Stiles was awake. That was a good sign, right? Derek had told him to wait downstairs, but he didn’t want to risk leaving Allison alone in a room she wouldn’t recognize. He was almost completely certain that she was real now. He didn’t know how it had happened, and when he tried to concentrate on the dream, he found that he couldn’t really remember it anymore. He just remembered feeling… complete.

Derek found him sitting outside of his bedroom door, listening for signs of Allison waking up. “This isn’t downstairs,” he pointed out. He didn’t sound surprised, though. “Let me see her. I can tell you if she’s really here, and if it’s really her.”

“It’s her. It has to be,” Stiles shot back, but he stood and opened the door. Allison was awake and sitting up, her eyes wide as she took in Stiles and Derek.

“Stiles? Where are we?” she asked. She didn’t seem afraid, but she was very alarmed. He took comfort in knowing that this was as weird and unexpected for her as it was for him. He almost didn’t notice that Derek had shifted and was standing in front of him protectively.

“She smells like magic,” he spat. “Who are you and how are you here?”

“Derek, you know me. I’m Allison, I’m pack,” she said calmly. “And I don’t know how I got here. I remember seeing the Oni’s sword come at me, and then I woke up here.”

“I don’t believe you,” Derek told her, narrowing his eyes. “You’re lying. I can hear your heart skip.”

“You’re probably scaring her,” Stiles pointed out, moving forward. He gave Derek a glare when he tried to get between them again. “Allison, you’re in my bedroom. You just… appeared here.”

“That makes no sense,” she said quietly. “I don’t understand. I was supposed to die, wasn’t I? I remember telling Scott goodbye.”

“See,” Derek said smugly. “She knows more than she’s saying.”

“It’s coming back in pieces,” she admitted. “The longer I think about it, the more I remember about my death. But I genuinely don’t remember anything beyond dying. I closed my eyes, and… it felt like the air was hugging me. And then I woke up here. Did someone heal me?”

“No,” Stiles told her. “It’s been almost six months for us. You’ve been dead and buried since that day. Nothing has happened that should have changed that.”

“Stiles,” Derek said slowly, moving closer again. “You smell like magic, too. It’s faint, but it’s there. Not just residual from Allison, either.”

“So it’s really her?” Stiles asked hopefully. Derek nodded, and Stiles grinned. “Good. Thank god.” He pulled her into a tight hug that she returned with no hesitation. “We can’t tell Scott, though. We don’t know how long this will last. I don’t want to hurt him if it’s at all possible to avoid it.”

“Then you shouldn’t go anywhere near him, especially since you just hugged her. He’ll catch her scent the second you get close to him,” Derek pointed out. “Wouldn’t it be better for him to know? He can get a little bit of time with her before she goes, if she does.”

“No, Stiles is right. If it were me, I would never stop if I knew there was a way to bring him back again, even if it’s only temporary. He’ll waste his entire life trying to find a way to bring me back again if he knows it’s even remotely possible. If this is temporary, I’d rather nobody knew,” Allison told them.

“Deaton would know,” Stiles suggested. “It’s too late tonight, but we can go first thing in the morning. Or we can see if he’ll make a house call, so nobody accidentally sees you.”

“That’s probably our best option,” Allison agreed. Then she yawned, as if she hadn’t slept enough in the last several months.

“You can take my bed,” Stiles told her. “I’ll sleep on the couch.”

“I’m staying with you,” Derek told him. His tone commanded no arguments, so Stiles just nodded. “We’ll figure this out in the morning.”

“It’s a plan,” Stiles agreed. He led Derek downstairs after lending Allison sweatpants and a shirt to sleep in.

“Why did you call me?” Derek asked after they’d settled. They were on opposite ends of the couch, and it was cramped, but it would work for one night.

“Because I needed help, and I trust you,” Stiles told him, not surprised at all by how true it was. “I didn’t want to hurt anyone.”

“You’re a good person,” Derek told him grudgingly. “But we need to figure out how you brought her back.”

“I don’t think it was me,” Stiles said quietly. It was silent for a long time, and Stiles had almost fallen asleep again when Derek answered.

“It was,” he whispered. Stiles fell asleep with that as his last thought.

 

_He was in the clouds again, and the air was vibrating with what felt like excitement. He looked around, but he could only see the lights of Beacon Hills, just like last time. He sighed, frustrated._

_“What is going on?” he shouted to nothing. He wasn’t expecting an answer, which is why he almost fell over when he got one._

_“Hello Stiles. I think we need to talk.”_


	3. Some Explanations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Stiles learns about his new gift.

_“Who are you?” Stiles demanded, turning all around to try to see who was speaking. There was nobody with him._

_“I have many names. You wouldn’t recognize them,” the voice told him. “I’ve been waiting for you to come along for quite some time now.”_

_“Why me?” Stiles asked. “And where are we?”_

_“I chose you because you are pure of heart. You are exactly what this world needs. With my gift, you can make a real difference. You can give the world what it deserves,” the voice told him. “We are in a place outside of time and space. We are where your Nemeton cannot disturb you.”_

_“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m so confused,” Stiles confessed. “You’re not making any sense.”_

_“I’m sorry. Perhaps it would be helpful to give you a name that you can look up when you get back. I am Solis Akrid, the last of my kind. I was given this gift many centuries ago, but I was never able to make the difference that you will. You can do so much good,” the voice, Solis, told him._

_“You keep mentioning a gift. Want to explain that?” Stiles tried hopefully._

_“I believe you have already used it to bring your friend back,” Solis told him. “I heard your story earlier this very night and helped your subconscious do what was needed. In time, you’ll be able to do it for yourself. You already had the spark. I just gave it what it needed to ignite.”_

_“You’re saying that you gave me magic?” Stiles squeaked. “But why? There are so many better choices!”_

_“I thought perhaps your mother would be the one, but she died far too early. I couldn’t save her. She gave you what she was, though. You have her pureness, her imagination,” Solis said. “And that is why I chose you, Stiles Stilinski.”_

_“But what happens now?” he asked, wringing his hands nervously. “I don’t know how to use magic. I could do real damage before I figure it out.”_

_“And that is why you can only use it here for now, where the universe can control what you do and do not cause,” Solis assured him. “When we have shown you how to control it, you will be able to use the gift anywhere that you go.”_

_“How was letting me bring back Allison a good decision? What about balance?” Stiles tried. It wasn’t that he wanted her to be gone; it was just that none of this made any sense._

_“Allison Argent is also an inherently good person. She has always strived to do what was right. Her life was ended before her time, just as your mother’s was. The difference is that Allison’s mind wasn’t broken, and her body had all but mended itself. Magic can heal a body, but never a mind,” Solis explained._

_“So you’re saying that I can bring back my other friends, but not my mother?” Stiles asked. He could have sworn that the clouds themselves were laughing at him._

_“In theory, yes. It would depend on the person and why they died. If it was their time, there is no bringing them back. If they were not good, there is no bringing them back,” Solis told him. “Your friends were in your pack, correct?”_

_“Yes, Erica and Boyd. They were killed by a rival pack to send a message to our alpha,” Stiles replied. He’d never felt so much hope. He could potentially give Derek his family again, if this worked. Solis seemed to know what he was thinking._

_“When the magic is entirely yours to control, it will be your decision. You spoke of balance, yet you have so much to learn. Talia Hale, for example, would be impossible to bring back. It was her time,” Solis told him. “But Laura Hale may be an exception. Your friends Erica and Boyd may also be exceptions. There are always exceptions to rules, even death.”_

_“But how is it fair to give someone the ability to reverse death? What if I do it accidentally to somebody who doesn’t deserve it, or I make it happen and then accidentally reverse it? Isn’t it technically still killing? And shouldn’t there be someone responsible for preventing messes? Or at least someone to clean them up,” Stiles rambled._

_“There will be time for explanations. We will meet many times before you are ready,” Solis told him calmly._

_“Can you tell me just one more thing?” Stiles asked, nervous again._

_“Of course,” Solis replied kindly._

_“Assuming I believe and remember all of this… is Allison back permanently? I mean, the magic won’t just wear off, right?” Stiles asked quietly, shrinking in on himself at the thought that he might have gotten her hopes up for nothing._

_“Nothing is permanent,” Solis told him. “But magic would not be so cruel as to give a life back temporarily. She is neither immortal nor invulnerable, but she won’t disappear.”_

 

Stiles woke up on the floor with Derek and his father staring down at him worriedly. He tried to play it off as nothing, but it was clear that neither of them believed it. He wouldn’t have believed him, either.

“Are you okay, son?” his father asked, offering a hand to help him up. Stiles took it, but he didn’t feel steady on his feet when his father let go. None of them mentioned Derek’s hand on his back to help him.

“I’m fine. I’m more than fine. I have an answer,” Stiles replied, looking at Derek pointedly. “Dad, it’s about to get really weird again.”

“Great,” the sheriff sighed. “Let me just go change into normal clothes, and you can tell me all about it.” The second he was out of the room, Derek was in Stiles’ space to make sure he was okay.

“What happened?” Derek demanded when he was sure Stiles was unharmed.

“I had another strange dream,” Stiles told him. “I was in the same place as the first one, but there was someone with me. I never saw him, but I got a name for Lydia and I to research. I also got confirmation that Allison is here permanently and not going to disappear or die on us.”

“And how did she come to be here?” Derek asked, brows furrowed.

“Well… that would be my fault. I guess this guy saw my spark and decided to ignite it. His metaphor, not mine. Basically, the guy gave me magic,” Stiles admitted. “When I thought about missing Allison, the magic brought her back. And there’s more, but I don’t think we should get into it just yet. My father doesn’t need to know.”

 

Explaining to his father took longer than they’d anticipated, and Allison coming down for breakfast halfway through didn’t help anything. In the end, his father just shook his head and told them he was staying out of it unless he was actually needed.

“It sounds like you’ve got a lot on your plate, kiddo. If you need my help, I’m always here for you. But this is out of my depth. I don’t know anything about magic or resurrection. I suggest taking her to Melissa for a check-up and talking to Deaton about possible sources of the magic. Other than that, I’ve got nothing,” he’d said.

“I’ll keep you updated,” Stiles promised, and they both knew it was only half true. Scott and Stiles had agreed after the Nogitsune was gone to keep their parents out of it as much as possible. Stiles would only tell him what he absolutely needed to know.

When his father went to lay down, Allison turned to him with determination written all over her face. “What was the man’s name?” she asked.

“Solis Akrid,” Stiles told them. “He said he was centuries old and the last of his kind. Makes me wonder if I’m now one of his kind.”

“No, I don’t think so,” Derek told him. “I’ve heard of people passing on magic and abilities. It changes your chemical make-up, but it doesn’t make you one of their species. Whatever this person is, you didn’t become just like him. You’re still human, just with a lot more magic than you were ever intended to have.”

“My father probably has books about this kind of thing,” Allison offered. “If that name means anything, we’ll find it. We’ll figure out what’s going on here, and if it’s safe.”

“There’s more,” Stiles admitted. “He told me that bringing Allison back wasn’t a fluke. This is something that I can do now. I can bring people back from the dead.”

Both of them kept their expressions guarded, but Stiles could read the hope in Derek’s eyes and the misery in Allison’s. Allison spoke before Derek could, which Stiles was thankful for. If Derek had asked him for something, he wouldn’t have been able to say no. He had never been able to tell Derek no.

“That’s a bad idea, Stiles,” she said softly. “There’s a balance that the universe always keeps. I’m glad and grateful that you brought me back, but there’s a very good chance that my life came from someone else. You can’t just create life. So yes, you can bring people back, but at what cost?”

Stiles hadn’t thought of that. He’d been so focused on healing his pack that he hadn’t thought about what was happening to the rest of the world. What had he done, bringing Allison back? Had he thrown the world off balance? Or worse, had he caused someone else’s death?

“Allison is right,” Derek said sadly. “This can never happen again.”

“Derek,” Stiles said, his heart breaking for the wolf all over again. “What if I can prove that it doesn’t hurt anything?”

“But how would you do that?” Allison asked, frowning.

“That man has been around for so long, he’d have to know. He’s probably done this before. If he can tell me with absolute certainty that bringing someone back doesn’t harm the universe in any way, can we revisit bringing important people back?” Stiles asked. They were both silent for a very long time, and it was Derek who answered this time.

“Yes. We can discuss it.”


	4. Legend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stiles finds out more about the man behind the magic.

They realized fairly quickly that the internet wasn’t going to help them. They only had a name and the ability to resurrect people, and it wasn’t narrowing anything down. Stiles had a few books in his house, but they were mostly about werewolves and kanimas. They’d eliminated both of those long before they’d gone to the internet, so his books wouldn’t be helpful in this search. They needed the bestiary.

“How do you not have a copy of it?” Derek growled. A few years ago that would have terrified Stiles, but now he was just annoyed.

“It was decided that having more than one copy was dangerous. Gerard wanted it for himself, and every single bad guy we’ve come across has tried to steal information from it. So we saved one copy of the digital, and one physical copy. Lydia has both,” Stiles explained as patiently as he could.

“I used to have the physical copy,” Allison said quietly. “My father gave it to Lydia?”

Stiles had the grace to look guilty as he thought of how best to answer. “It’s more that he didn’t know you had it. Lydia got over to your room before him, and she took the few things that you had that would have given away what they were working on. She was going to give me the book, but we haven’t had time to meet up privately yet.”

“Can’t she just email you the digital copy?” Derek snapped. At least he’d calmed down enough that he wasn’t showing any fangs or claws. Lydia had always set him off, and Stiles was never sure why.

“No,” Stiles told him, frowning.

“Why not?” Allison asked.

“That was the second part of our decision,” Stiles sighed. “After the Nogitsune, we realized that we really don’t have a fool-proof way to tell if we are who we say we are. So we don’t send information over phones or computers anymore. Everything is done in person.”

“But if it’s possession, how would she know anyways?” Derek asked, still frowning.

“Deaton gave us a mixture that would identify any supernatural traits before we walk through the door. It’s not mountain ash, so werewolves can get through. I think he said it’s a kind of wolfsbane. It’s not harmful,” Stiles tried to explain. “But we lined every door and window in every house with the stuff. If it’s an imposter, we’d know.”

“What about the school?” Allison asked.

“Yeah, there’s no protecting that place,” Stiles sighed. “We tried. The janitors just clean the stuff up before the school day is even over.”

“So how are we going to get the bestiary?” Allison asked, crossing her arms. “I can’t exactly just show up at her house.”

“You and Derek are going to wait here, and I’m going to go get it myself,” Stiles told them. “I don’t want to leave you here alone, Allison, because we don’t know if anything came back with you. We don’t know what the consequences are.”

“I don’t want you going alone,” Derek told him. His face was carefully blank, like he didn’t want them to guess what he was feeling, but…

“Dude, are you jealous?” Stiles asked incredulously. He didn’t understand how, but he knew instinctively what Derek was feeling in that moment. Derek’s alarmed expression confirmed it for him. “We need that book. This is getting weird.”

“Stiles,” Derek started, but he was already out the door.

 

“Stiles,” Lydia stared at him in concern. “What are you doing here at four in the morning?”

“Something came up, and I need to see the bestiary,” he told her, fidgeting. He was hoping she wouldn’t ask too many questions, because he hadn’t decided what all he wanted to tell her. Even though he knew that Allison was there to stay, he still didn’t want to get people’s hopes up. He wanted to understand how and why before he told anyone else, especially Lydia and Scott.

“It’s four in the morning,” she repeated, frowning.

“We both know that danger and disaster wait for nothing,” Stiles reminded her. “This isn’t even that weird.”

“It really is,” Lydia told him, but she moved so he could get inside. “My mother is out of town, so we don’t have to be quiet.”

In another lifetime, Stiles would have been so excited to be in her home alone with her. He would have been trying to woo her, or trying to get her to notice that he was a guy and very interested. But now, watching her wake herself up with a cup of coffee and pulling up the bestiary on her tablet, he realized that it would never have worked between them even if she _had_ given him a chance.

“What are we looking for exactly?” Lydia asked as patiently as she could. He knew she was probably tired, and he did feel bad for waking her up. He’d make it up to her later.

“Solis Akrid,” Stiles told her. “I don’t know what he is, and I know he has a bunch of other names. He’s old, and he’s powerful.”

“And you came across him?” Lydia asked, typing rapidly. She had the same blank expression as Derek, but Stiles couldn’t get a read on what she was feeling.

“I really can’t explain it yet, Lyds,” he said quietly. “I just need you to trust me. This could be a very good thing.”

“I found him,” she told him, frowning. “You’re right; he does go by many names. Solis Akrid is one he used centuries ago in rural Ireland. He’s a Puca, but he’s different than most of his kind. In mythology, Puca’s bring luck, good or bad, to the people who treat them with respect. Solis was very well respected, and had never done anything but good in his community. He had a run-in with a Sluagh, a creature that steals souls, and accidentally stole his powers.”

“Stole his powers?” Stiles asked, blood draining from his face. “But why? What happened?”

“It says the Sluagh stole the soul of the woman he’d fallen in love with as she gave birth to their son. The son was fine, but the woman died in childbirth. Solis changed the Sluagh’s powers just enough that he could give souls instead of taking them, but something else was wrong with her and he couldn’t bring her back. That’s when he just… disappeared,” Lydia told him. “The only reason this is even documented is that an Argent took the son in when the Puca disappeared.”

“So he was a good guy?” Stiles asked. “Like, there’s no catch to giving these souls back, is there?”

“Not that I can tell. The souls he’s giving back are the ones the Sluagh stole to begin with. He’s trading those souls in for the ones he wants to restore,” she shrugged. “He doesn’t seem like a bad guy to me.”

“Good,” Stiles said, feeling relief for the second time that night. “Then I have something to show you.”


End file.
